Pencil point sharpener



May 10, 1949.

A. CORNlSH-BESA PENCIL POINT SHARPENER Filed June 16, 1945 v IN VEN TOR. .fln'z'o 71 i0 007" ish-Besa/ Patented May 10, 1949 ram." QFFICE 3 Claims. 1.

This invention relates to pencil point sharpeners for mechanical pencils.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a sharpening device for use in connection with mechanical pencils, the device being adapted to sharpen the lead of the pencil without damaging the holder.

Another object is the provision of a sharpener of the character described which is of the simplest construction and which may be used with great 11 ease, speed and precision.

A further object is the provision of a sharpener of the character described which may be mounted on a standardmechanical pencil without the necessity of making special provision for the mounting of the same.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawing in Which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of the top of a standard mechanical pencil in which one of the preferred forms of the sharpenin device is mounted;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of. the same pencil showing the sharpening device detached therefrom and being used. to sharpen the lead of the pencil;

Fig. 3- is an. enlarged sectional view of said sharpening device. showing the mounting therefor;

Fig. 4 is a top view of said sharpening device 2 showing the rotatable apertured disc through which the lead of the pencil is inserted during the sharpening operation; and

Fig, 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 3 showing a second preferred form of sharpening device and the mounting therefor.

Referring now to Fi s. 1 to 4 inclusive, the first form of sharpening device it is shown mounted in a standard mechanical pencil II. The sharpening device proper comprises an abrasive mem ber i2 and an apertured disc I 3 rotatably mounted thereon. The member I 2 is a unitary member made of abrasive material such as Carborundum. It is a solid of cylindrical shape whose diameter corresponds to the diameter of the standard eraser and eraser mounting M which is ordinarily carried by mechanical pencils of standard construction. The abrasive member I2 has an annular groove 15 formed in its top surface, said groove being cone shaped in cross section. Since the member i2 is made of abrasive material, the walls of said groove have abrasive properties. The disc I3 is rotatably mounted on the member I! by means, for example, of a set screw 16. Reference to Fig. 4 will show that the disc is proiii) vided with a plurality of apertures I! which may be of different diameters to accommodate "leads of corresponding diameters. It willbe noted/that these apertures I"! are co-axial with the groove l5], reference being had here to the circular axis of the groove which extends through the apex of the cone.

The sharpening device thus described is-mounted within a sleeve it which is the same sleeve in which the eraser and the eraser mounting M= are mounted, the sharpening device being mounted at one end thereof and the eraser at the other end. This complete assembly, comprising the sharpening device, the eraser and the sleeve in which they are mounted, may be introducedinto the barrel of the pencil H in the manner shown in Fig. 1. To use the sharpening device, this assembly is removed from the barrel of the pencil and the pencil point or lead I8 is inserted through an appropriate aperture H in the disc l3 as shown in Fig. 2, the assembly beingnormally held in the left hand and the pencilf in the right. The pencil is then made to engage in movement of revolution as distinguished from movement of rotation as indicated'by the arrow in Fig. 2. In consequence of such movement, the lead I8 is caused to travel in a circular path through groove i5, in abrading contact with the walls thereof. Only a few such revolutions are needed to sharpen the point to precision fineness. It should be noted here that the shape of the groove is predetermined to provide opposing abrasive surfaces of appropriate angular relationship. The sharpening device thus described is adapted to sharpen leads of different thickness vice first above described and it is mounted in cated cones set base to base.

precisely the same manner by means of a. set screw 21. Unlike the abrasive member I! above described, the abrasive member of the present device comprises two elements: an outer element 28 and an inner element 29 fastened. The element 2% has a circular outer wall. A hole having the shape of an inverted truncated cone is formed in said element 28 co-axial with its outer walls. The member 29 is shaped like a pair of trun- Such being the case, when the member 29 is inserted into the hole formed in the member 28, a groove 30' similar in shape to the above described groove 15 is formed betweensaid elements. The walls of said groove 30 are roughened or rendered file-like or are surfaced with an abrasive coat. It is immaterial what the elements 28 and 29 are made of when the walls of their groove 30 are coated with an abrasive. The abrasive, however, need not constitute a coat. Instead the walls themselves may possess abrasive properties. In the preferred form of this invention the walls are made of hardened steel with a file type of surface. The sharpening device 25 is mounted on the closed end of a tumbler-shaped holder 3| by means of a screw 32. It will be seen that the screw engages only the element 29 and not the element 28. It is clear from Fig. 5, however, that when the element 29 is fastened to the holder 3|, the element 28 is necessarily held in position with respect both to the element 29 and to the holder 3|. When the sharpening device is assembled in this manner, it is not necessary that the element 28 be fused to the element 29 since they are held together by screw 32 in cooperation with the holder 3 i. The holder 3! performs the additional function of holding the eraser and eraser mounting I4 in precisely the same manner as the sleeve 20 holds this member in the assembly first above described. The sharpening device shown in Fig. 5 is used in the same Way as the sharpening device shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.

Although both forms of sharpening devices above described include a rotatable disc, that disc may be dispensed with. It serves only as a handy guide for the pencil lead and also prevents the fine particles of lead which would normally adhere to the abrasive surfaces of the groove from soiling the hands or the pocket in which the pencil would normally be kept. It is clear that the device thus described is susceptible of many modifications without departing from the basic principles of the invention. For example, the elements 28 and 29 shown in Fig. 5 are two separate elements held together to form an abrasive surfaced groove 30.

I claim:

1. A pencil point sharpener for mechanical pencils, said sharpener comprising a sleeve reversibly mounted in the barrel of a mechanical pencil, a sharpening member aflixed at an end of said sleeve, said sharpening member having an annular groove formed therein which is coneshaped in cross-section and which has abrasive walls, said sharpening member having an apertured disc rotatably mounted thereon coaxially therewith, the apertures in said disc being of a diameter substantially corresponding to the diameter of the pencil point of said mechanical pencil, and being arranged on a circular line which registers with the circular axis of the groove.

2. A pencil point sharpener for mechanical pencils comprising a member having an annular groove formed therein which is cone-shaped in cross section and which has abrasive siu'faced Walls, said member having an apertured disc rotatably mounted thereon, the apertures therein being co-axial with the circular axis of the groove, said member being mounted at the closed end of a tumbler-shaped member, said tumbler shaped member being adapted for mounting in the barrel of a standard mechanical pencil.

3. A pencil point sharpener for mechanical pencils, said sharpener comprising a sleeve reversibly mounted in the barrel of a. mechanical pencil, a sharpening member afiixed at an end of said sleeve, said sharpening member having an annular groove formed therein which is coneshaped in cross-section and which has abrasive walls, said sharpening member having an apertured disc rotatably mounted thereon coaxially therewith, the apertures in said disc being of different diameters which respectively correspond to the diameters of pencil points of difierent thicknesses, said apertures being arranged on a circular line which registers with the circular axis of the groove.

ANTONIO CORNISH-BESA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 433,533 Montgomer Aug. 5, 1890 1,005,329 Schmidt Oct. 10, 1911 1,579,972 Thoresen Apr. 6, 1926 1,590,330 Stevenson June 29, 1926 1,770,062 Blomgren July 8, 1930 2,266,562 Martin Dec. 16, 1941 

